Syracuse basketball’s season ended a couple of weeks ago. Pencils are down, and the grades are in. Let’s see how the team did:
Tyus Battle (19.2 ppg): With little help around him, Battle became SU’s leading scorer this season by being a volume shooter, hitting just 39.9 percent of his shots and 32.2 percent from downtown. Still, he carried the team in large stretches on the offensive end, and was SU’s lone representative as a Second Team All-ACC performer. The only question now is whether Battle will go pro. Grade: A-.
Oshae Brissett (14.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg): With Tyler Lydon and Taurean Thompson departing in the offseason, Brissett assumed a much larger role in his freshman year, and took advantage of it, being named to the All-ACC Rookie Team. Brissett will need to improve on his 35.4 percent shooting from the field, but should he stay at Syracuse, seems to have the kind of skill set that NBA teams like. Grade: A-.
Frank Howard (14.4 ppg, 4.7 apg): Howard made a significant leap in his junior season, and was one of the ACC’s most improved players. Still, Howard struggled with turnovers throughout the season (3.4 TPG) and shot poorly in the tail end of the season, connecting on just 17-58 of his attempts over his last five games. Grade: B+.
» Related: An early look at the 2018-19 Syracuse basketball team
Marek Dolezaj (5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg): Dolezaj came on during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 10.7 ppg over the last six games. Dolezaj already has a natural feel for the game and a high basketball IQ. If his jumper continues to develop and he adds more heft to his frame (he’s listed at 180 points), Dolezaj could be one of SU’s most productive players in his sophomore season. Grade: B.
Paschal Chukwu (2.5 bpg, 6.8 rpg): In his first full season with Syracuse, Chukwu proved to be a capable shot blocker and a surprisingly decent free throw shooter (63.2 percent). Chukwu still needs to learn how to catch and finish inside. Any offense Syracuse can get from him next year will be a bonus. Grade: B.
Matt Moyer (3.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg): Moyer never quite fit into Syracuse’s scheme, and often drew the ire of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. Things only got worse for Moyer after his ankle injury, which led to his father intervening, and an Instagram post depicting his injury. Moyer announced his intention to transfer on Monday. Grade: C-.
Bourama Sidibe (2.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg): Sidibe was limited through most of the season with knee and ankle injuries. If Syracuse can get him back to full strength next season, expect him to play a larger role. Grade: INC.
Jim Boeheim: Boeheim didn’t get enough credit for the job he did coaching a severely limited team. For the last two months of the season, he only had two scholarship guards available and only had three reliable offensive options the whole year, yet he managed to guide his team to the NCAA Tournament and to an improbable Sweet 16 run. This is one of his better coaching jobs in recent memory. Grade: A.
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